SALT LAKE CITY — The Utes used an impressive defensive performance in regulation and an equally impressive offensive performance in extra time to beat Stanford 20-17 in double overtime.

Defensive end Nate Orchard became Utah's single season sack record holder with 3.5 sacks against the Cardinal. Orchard now has 16.5 on the season, with two regular season games plus postseason play remaining.

Quarterback Travis Wilson was a perfect 5-5 passing in the overtime periods, including three critical throws — a 25 yard pass to Kaelin Clay on the first play of overtime, a 10-yard pass to Westlee Tonga over the middle on 3rd and 7 that gave Utah a first down and, of course, the game-winning 2-yard slant to Kenneth Scott in the second overtime.

SALT LAKE CITY — Nate Orchard has been a force to be reckoned with, second in the nation in total sacks with 13. But it wasn't that long ago that he was a lanky 6-foot-3 195-pound wide receiver at Highland High.

Plus a preview of Utah vs. Stanford and a highlight recap of the Oregon game.

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah football team opened conference play the same way it has the last three years — with a loss.

The Utes fell to 0-4 in conference openers since joining the Pac-12 with a heartbreaking 28-27 loss to Washington State. The Utes held several significant leads in this game — 21-0 in the first quarter and 27-14 in the fourth, but couldn't make the plays needed down the stretch to get the W.

The road only gets tougher from here as the Utes travel south to Los Angeles to take on the No. 8 UCLA Bruins in the Rose Bowl. The Utes are a combined 1-12 on the road against the LA area schools, with the lone win coming against USC in 1916.

SALT LAKE CITY — Luckily for the Utes they had a bye in week 3 of college football, as teams from the Pac-12 did not fare so well.

UCLA lost its starting quarterback in their 20-17 win over Texas, while Arizona State also lost its starting QB in a 38-24 win over Colorado. It is uncertain as to when either quarterback will be ready to play again.

Meanwhile USC traveled east to Boston College where the Eagles had a field day running the football, rushing for 452 yards in a 37-31 upset over the top 10 Trojans.

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah improved to 2-0 on the season with an impressive offensive showcase in a 59-27 win over Fresno State.

Travis Wilson threw for five touchdowns, tied for second most in school history. Wide receivers Dres Anderson and Kenneth Scott both had two touchdowns, while the offense was almost perfectly balanced with 258 yards rushing and 268 yards passing.

But the defense was not to be outdone, accounting for seven sacks and 11 total tackles for a loss, even recovering a fumble to record Utah's first defensive turnover of the season.

SALT LAKE CITY — We're back! The 2014 football season is just hours away as the Utes prepare to face FCS foe Idaho State. What are the players saying about the game? Plus Travis Wilson's road back to the starting lineup and getting you ready for the 2014 season of Utah football.

SALT LAKE CITY — Wednesday's practice for the University of Utah football team was marked with some good news and bad news.

While the offense bounced back from its lackluster performance in yesterday's scrimmage, the defense learned some troubling news that cornerback Reggie Porter will miss the entire 2014 season with a knee injury.

"It is very disappointing," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham told the media. "He'll have surgery in a couple weeks. It is a big blow."

SALT LAKE CITY — Facing a relentless pass rush for most of the day, Utah's quarterbacks took a step back from the progress they had made throughout fall camp.

"I wasn’t impressed with any quarterback," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said to describe the performance of the six QBs that received reps during Tuesday's scrimmage at Rice-Eccles. "It was disappointing because they’ve all been really sharp up until today, however in a game-like situation we didn’t respond."

The quarterbacks combined for a not so good 15-of-44 passing, and while they didn't throw any interceptions, two handoff exchanges were dropped, both of which were recovered by the defense, and one was returned for a 89-yard fumble return for a touchdown by safety Tevin Carter.

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utes will look to settle some depth chart position battles as they hold two scrimmages this week, the first of the fall camp session. The scrimmages are scheduled for Tuesday and Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

"Coming out of Saturday's scrimmage we have to have most all of our questions answered, because at that point we'll only be 12 days away from the game (vs. Idaho State). We have to prepare for the game and we can only get a couple groups reps," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said.

One of the key position battles underway at camp is at quarterback between returning starter Travis Wilson and incoming transfer Kendal Thompson from Oklahoma. While Wilson was listed at No. 1 on the latest depth chart released Monday morning, Whittingham made it a point to say the competition isn't over yet.

SALT LAKE CITY — Other than a showcase of speed by running back Troy McCormick and receiver Dres Anderson, the defense held the upper hand in Saturday's scrimmage.

A crowd of several thousand basking in the sun enjoyed several big plays, including a 60-yard touchdown run by the speedy McCormick, a 44-yard touchdown pass from Travis Wilson to Dres Anderson and a 29-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Hipolito Corporan.

SALT LAKE CITY — Tuesday marked the beginning of week two of Utah's spring football practices, and while the week prior was dominated by the defense, it was the offense that made some strides — especially in the passing game.

All quarterbacks looked sharper on day four of Camp Kyle, which also marked the first day of full contact this spring for the Utes. Execution, mechanics and pocket presence all were improved as the offense finally got in a rhythm after being seemingly stagnant through the first few days.

Six players are taking reps at quarterback this spring with two more entering the program this fall. Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham thinks the competition level and overall depth is a good thing for the program.

After back-to back-losing seasons for the first time in 23 years, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham made a bold decision this past offseason, hiring Dave Christensen to be the Utes' new offensive coordinator in hopes of bucking that losing trend.

There were plenty of new faces at the Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Center as the Utes kicked off their first spring practice of 2014 Tuesday afternoon — both new incoming recruits and new offensive staff hires. But it was one familiar face that drew the most attention.

First Round

SALT LAKE CITY — For a position group that has seen its share of setbacks over the past several seasons, suddenly the Utah football roster is overflowing with talent at quarterback.

Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham announced via Twitter that Kendal Thompson, a redshirt sophomore quarterback from the University of Oklahoma, will be transferring to the Utes after he graduates in May.

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